Our lives are not our own.
We are bound to each other, past and present
And by each crime and every kindness,
We birth our future.

-Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell

Burns

There's a knot in my stomach when I see Emma walk away with Arashi. I wish I could make her stay here, or at least go with her myself, but I know it's not an option.

Emma is right. My friends won't stop searching and neither will Sky's.

It doesn't mean I'm comfortable with letting her go. I don't want to be parted with her, not now that I know she loves me.

"Hey, don't worry," Blake tells me, "I know Arashi can be a bit stiff, but he knows what he's doing. He won't let anything happen to her."

I close my eyes. "If she gets caught again, they will kill her this time. They'll know she was taken before."

"She won't get taken," Blake says, "she's tougher than she looks, you know. She made that Sky person look for you. She'll be back before you know it."

Will snorts. "Give me a break."

"Why don't you just shut it?!" Blake snarls at him.

"Quit arguing you two!" Logan interrupts, "everyone is sick and tired of it."

"I don't understand why you all just believe everything he says," Will points at me.

"Listen Will," Logan says, "you were gone for two weeks. Things changed around here. If you would just get to know Burns, you'd see he's not like the others."

"Of course he isn't," Will says sarcastically, "until Seekers file into our hide-out." He snorts and walks out of the room.

I look down guiltily. It's my fault they are arguing with each other. If I hadn't been here, everything would be different.

Some of my thoughts must be obvious on my face, because Blake presses my shoulder. "He just needs some time, okay? Don't blame yourself. Come, let's kill some time until they're back."

I follow him down the tunnel towards his sleeping space. I haven't been here before. It's larger than ours and very homely. A makeshift cabinet holds some personal items.

"Cards?" Blake holds up a package and I nod.

"Sure."

Blake shuffles the cards and divides them. "You have to understand," he says, "Will has his reasons for hating your kind so much. Before he met Kelsey, he was engaged. His fiancée was killed by Seekers. The two of them were part of a human unit that fought your kind. Evan was part of that group too. Will's fiancée got shot by one of the Seekers. Only he and Evan survived."

I close my eyes a moment and inhale deeply. I had not know. No wonder he can't stand to be around me.

Blake continues. "Arashi's story... no one really knows. He met Will and Evan one day and they stuck together. Eventually they ended up here, but that was before I arrived. Arashi doesn't talk much, especially about his past, but we know he had some military training. He is good with that kind of stuff." Blake throws a card between us. "Your turn."

It seems like he means more than just the game we're playing. I take a moment to think about what to say. I add a card to the pile. "I was born on the Mist Planet," I begin and I tell him about life as a Bear. "When my lifespan ended, I decided it was time to try out a new planet. I chose Fire World, the complete opposite of the Mist Planet."

"Is that were you got your name?" Blake smirks.

I nod. "Yes." I see surprise in his eyes. "Where else would I get my name?"

"From your parents," Blake states.

I shake my head and throw another card on the pile. "Souls don't have parents." It's a sensitive subject to me. Before coming to Earth, I hadn't given it much thought. The way we are born was just a way of reproducing ourselves.

Blake gives me a thoughtful look and shrugs. "Maybe you're better off that way."

I look at him stunned. "How can you say that?"

He shrugs and shifts positions. He leans back against the wall. "My parents weren't all that great." There's a frown etched on his face.

I realize I don't really know that much about Blake, nor any of the others for that matter. Was his life really that horrible? I know his parents knew Emma's. And I know how awkward Emma's relationship with her parents was. Maybe it was the same for him. I know this is my chance to get to know him better, maybe understand that thing between him and Emma, but my Soul nature of respecting someone's privacy is warring with my human curiosity.

I sigh. "Emma always says her parents didn't listen. And her mother... smothered her."

Blake scoffs. "Smothered. That's a way of putting it."

"What do you mean?"

Blake sighs. "Look, they took good care of her, there's nothing I can say against that, they were just... caught up in their own affairs. Her father was a good man and he loved her a lot, but he didn't know how to raise a daughter. He was busy with his research and didn't give her the attention she needed. He mother...," he lets out a mocking laugh, "well, she was a piece of work. Grew up from riches, you know, really worried about what other people would think, always being the perfect wife, and at the same time pursuing her own career. I guess she wanted to prove she could do it all. And she wanted Emma to be just like that."

He shakes his head. "They didn't even see what she was capable of. She wanted to go to art school, did you know?"

I nod. "She told me."

Blake sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

"What about your parents?" I ask, "were the like that too?"

He lets out a bitter chuckle. "My parents were hardly around. Their work was more important than their son. But oh how much they loved me. They got me everything money could buy to prove it."

It is silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry," I say softly.

"Why?" Blake questions, "it's not your fault."

I shrug and study my hands. "It seemed like the right thing to say."

"Guess it doesn't matter anymore," Blake says, "they're perfect creatures now. Hell, maybe I'd even prefer them that way."

"You don't really mean that," I say.

Blake sighs. "Maybe not," he admits. He takes a card.

I hesitate before asking my next question. It shouldn't really matter, but I can't help it. I have to know. "Is that why you and Emma..." I don't finish my sentence. I'm not even sure what I'm asking.

An amused smile appears on Blake's face. "Are you still worried I might steal her from you?" His face turns serious again. "Don't worry. I'm not that kind of guy."

"But you like her," I push.

The smile on his face makes his expression softer. "There is something about her." He shakes his head and laughs. "It makes you want to protect her."

I nod. I know exactly what he means.

"But in the end," Blake continues, "it's not about what I want. It's about what she wants. And she wants you."

"I'm sorry," I say.

Blake laughs. "You're apologizing?" He wipes at his eyes, "wow it's been a while since I've laughed like that. Why would you feel sorry that she likes you better?"

I'm not sure how to answer that. "If I hadn't been here... she probably would have picked you."

"The way I see it," Blake says, "if you hadn't been here, Emma would be dead, but that's not why she picked you. She made that Sky person look for you. She had already chosen."

His words make my heart skip.

Blake studies me carefully. "She chose well you know. She needs you."

I smile. "I think I might need her more than she needs me." It's the first time I've said that out loud. Emma is tougher than she looks. I know that now. Of course I knew she could take care of herself. She survived on her own for quite a while. But she's also brave. She caught a bullet for me. She went to the Shipping Center with me to see off Sky.

She trusted me when I hadn't given her a reason to. And now she's risking her life to protect this group of humans.

"Don't worry," Blake breaks through my thoughts. "She'll be back in a few hours. If anyone can convincingly act as a Soul, it's her."

He's probably right. She knew my friends through Sky. And they can't check her eyes through the phone.

Yes, she should be alright.

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A/N Anyone seen/read Cloud Atlas? I absolutely love it! ^_^
Wow chapter 92 already. And counting... XD